Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Sudan generals, pro-democracy group hold first meeting since coup

Sudan generals, pro-democracy group hold first meeting since coup

The talks focused on resolving the country’s political impasse, the US embassy in Khartoum said in a statement.

Sudan’s leading pro-democracy group has met the country’s generals for the first time since last year’s military coup, the United States Embassy in Sudan has said, in what could signal a breakthrough in attempts to bring the country’s democratic transition back on track.

The meeting was held late on Thursday in the capital, Khartoum, and brought the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change (FDFC) – an alliance of political parties and protest groups – together with representatives of the country’s ruling military council, the US Embassy said on Friday.

The talks focused on resolving the current political impasse and were mediated by the Saudi Arabia Embassy and the US delegation in Sudan, the embassy said in a statement.

“We thank the participants for their frank and constructive participation and for their willingness to end the political crisis and to build a peaceful, just and democratic Sudan,” it said.

Since the military took over in October, the same pro-democracy group has refused to sit with the generals at the negotiating table, insisting they should first transfer power to a civilian government, end violence against protesters and release all detainees.

“We are keen to have two of the most influential countries in the region and the world remain supportive of the Sudanese people and the pro-democracy forces,” the FDFC said in a statement, referring to Saudi Arabia and the US.

The meeting, which the group dubbed “unofficial”, took place in the Khartoum residence of Saudi Ambassador Ali bin Hassan Jaafar.

The group said it had agreed to lay out a roadmap in consultation with other civilian groups on how to end the current political deadlock and hand it over to the international community, according to the statement.

The FDFC had previously boycotted military-civilian talks that kicked off earlier this week under the auspices of the United Nations political mission in Sudan, the African Union, and the eight-nation East African regional group Intergovernmental Authority in Development. It had criticised the participation of pro-military groups and individuals allied with the former regime.

The military’s takeover has upended Sudan’s short-lived fragile democratic transition and plunged the country into turmoil. The coup also triggered near-daily street protests, which authorities have met with a deadly crackdown. More than 100 people have been killed since October, according to a medical group tracking casualties.

Last week, a UN human rights expert on Sudan called for accelerated investigations into the killings of protesters and other atrocities.

Hundreds of people, including prominent politicians and activists, have been detained since the coup, although many have been released recently as part of trust-building measures.

The military takeover also triggered widespread international condemnation and punitive measures, including crucial aid cuts by Western governments pending the resumption of the transition to civilian rule.

Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, is also struggling with an economy in decline due to decades of international isolation and mismanagement under former President Omar al-Bashir.

A popular uprising pushed the military to remove al-Bashir in April 2019.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×